Wednesday, September 10, 2008

In HARDCORE ZEN I wrote about some of the punk rock houses I lived in and here's one of them. The editor of that book refused to believe that I lived in a place where there was a hole in the floor of the bathroom through which one could look into the dining room. Here is photographic proof. Check out the hairstyle! Oh the pain...

AKRON, OHIO 1990

This is a continuation of the same video, showing what Akron looked like at its worst. It has gotten much better since then. 1990 was probably the absolute bottom of the city's long decline that started in the mid-1970's.

These videos are excerpts from a video letter I made for my friends Monica and Maureen Martinez in Chicago when I moved back to Akron after living in Chicago for three years.

*****

OK. On to another topic. At least five people have independently written e-mails to me in the past few weeks bemoaning the state of the comments section of this blog. One person said, "the comments section in your blog is an almost total cesspit. The information content has gone to near zero." Others have expressed pretty much the same sentiment.

I'd like to close the comments section and replace it with something else. But I need help. What I'd like to have is a forum something like what Noah Levine has on his Dharma Punx site. Membership would be required (but would be free). It would be divided into topics. And it would be monitored. Spam and inappropriate content would be deleted, an administrator would post comments when things were getting strange in there or would close threads that went astray and that sort of thing.

Trouble is, ain't no way I'm gonna monitor the thing! I don't have the patience for it. The Internet just bugs me. Plus my connection speed is like 1995. I log on to a page, go for a pee, get a glass of water, read the complete works of Tolstoy, go on vacation in West Africa, start my own country and conquer the known world and when I come back the page has just... about... finished... loading. I really don't want to be spending my entire day on monitoring a forum. I'd link it to this blog and to my website and I'd stop by occasionally. But that would be about it for my involvement. I think Noah does about the same with his thing.

So is anybody out there computer savvy enough and motivated enough to do this?

115 comments:

Forums are much less problematic and do run a lot smoother. Plus, getting rid of a troll is just a click away (actually I don't know if it's just a click away because I know nothing about the administrative aspect of forums, hence why I won't be offering my lack of no how for the administrative position. It could be two clicks).

(ahem) a comment to a previous post-quote that really whacked me upside the head.

"Whatever perspective you have is the most valuable thing in the universe. You need to be fully yourself. At the same time, you need to completely forget any idea you have about yourself. Or, if you can’t forget it, at least ignore it, secure in the knowledge that whatever you think you are isn’t what you really are."

- brad warner, that is the most beautiful definition of 'humility' or 'being humble', that i have ever read.

you dont have to "anhilate" the ego, you only have to recognize it for the useful tool it is and not be caught up in and distracted by its "many colors". trying to "anhiliate" the quote unquote ego sounds pretty useless and quite stupid to me.

but wait, isnt that the objective and reward of the search for so-called "enlightenment"?

perhaps actual "enlightenment" is more of an "oh...duh." experience.who knows?

its funny, cause whenever i find myself getting too full of myself, something happens slash LIFE kicks me in the ass and says loudly and clearly "Sit down and shut up! (is that trademarked yet?), you dont know shit!"

then i realize the voice is right, find myself in total awe of the total awesomeness of it All, and then i begin to correct myself.

A good forum is indeed easier to manage and keep clean than this kind of comments section. The main thing it needs, though, is active administration aka moderators who spend time there reading (if not individually then at least between them) every single message posted daily. Though I think if registration is required that alone would drop the amount of garbage from what you see here.

Personally I recommend SMF or phpBB3 as the platform if you don't want to spend money to get something better.

Although I'm not sure as to the point of the hardcore zen forum if Brad himself won't be present. Look at what his dharma-bro Jundo has done at TreeLeaf - it works magnificently because Jundo writes frequently too.

Why not just change your settings on your blog to not allow comments, and leave it at that? I can't imagine anyone wanting to monitor all of the crap that readers would like to post, and then allowing some and not others. Your readers could email you if they really had something to say, and you could respond directly or via your blog.

I like the drama. Rather see completely closed comments than see heavy-handed moderation. Considering some of the uber Warner-love that appears here, I suspect moderators might be heavy-handed. I'll go elsewhere rather than use my time on someone's sanitized view of Brad Warner's 'fan' base. I was about ready to delete this site off my bloglines anyway.

Seriously, this is what message boards are like across the whole Internet, nothings going to change.

And this is on a 'superior' Buddhist message board. You can imagine other more wordly normal net boards! Madness!

They are a breeding ground for hate. This is the future.

Opening a dedicated message board may help somewhat though. Good luck to you.

Been reading this site and Brad's previous site for years, but I stopped reading these comments recently, not because of the anon spammers or whatever, but just because they get repetative and boring and conflictive.

Brad's articles are still good though and I am very much looking forward to the new book in Feb. Day 1 for me.

(Stole that expression from the 1up videogame message boards I've been reading for many many months).

There is one person behind most of this and you know him/have met him. Talk to him."

I have no real probs with Mikey's rants, its just that it seems to me the 'chat' on this blog might happen better on a little forum where there can be topics and things... and, well, if people like Mikey are shown that sociopathy is not always welcome in the place then so be it.

Mysterion/Charles should NOT moderate it (no offence). It should though be someone who knows Brad directly. Rob, are you there? Any suggestions?

I like the idea of a forum too. But moderation can be very tricky. On one hand you can have an unmoderated free-for-all and you get what we've got here. Or you can end up with something like an E-Sangha with their rules. I'm sorry, but it really would not surprise me if Brad went in that direction. No criticism of Brad or his comments, no links to or teachings of sects that aren't real buddhism according to the Brad / Nishijima pov.

Actual E-Sangha rules:

1) While it is acknowledged that levels of understanding of the Dharma will vary among members, and that all will have their own beliefs about it, certain doctrines such as karma, postmortem rebirth and not-self, are held to be core teachings by all Buddhist traditions. Members are free to privately disagree with these teachings, or to discuss and ask questions about them, but not to debate them, denigrate them, or deny that they were taught by the Buddha.

2) Members may not post, attach, use or send any posts, Personal Messages, links, images or files that promote a religion, belief, faith or doctrine other than "Buddhism."

) These few "Buddhist" schools of thoughts are not recognized by E-sangha. No links to their websites, their books, or their followers' websites are allowed:

New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) and all other proponents of Dolgyal/ShugdenDark ZenTrue Buddha School Aro Ter/Flaming Jewel Sangha

Offensive or vulgar language, personal attacks, and sect bashing are not allowed. Abusive speech, including insults regarding race, nationality, culture, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or personal disability will be considered an act of violence and cause for termination of privileges.

9) The use of the term "fundamentalist", as an appellation of another Buddhist's view, is not permitted on this board.

10) Questions and negative comments about moderator actions and decisions, E-sangha TOS, forum guidelines, banned members, or one's intention to leave E-sangha or shift to another website are not allowed in the forum. ***

They are based in Singapore and it shows. If you chew gum while posting there, they'll probably publicly whip you.

Back in March, the AP's investigative unit uncovered the fact that the water supplies of many American cities contained small amounts of pharmaceutcials, including hormones and mood stabilizers. Now, the AP has uncovered even more medications in urban water supplies, adding 17 more big cities to its list (for example, Reno, Nev., Savannah, Ga., Colorado Springs, Colo., and Huntsville, Ala.) and effecting the water supplies of 46 million Americans. The cities went off and did the testing on their own, spurred by the AP's excellent reporting in March. The usual suspects showed up on the meds front, but the only psych med to make the list this time was Tegretol (carbamazapine).

"Chicago, for example, found a cholesterol medication and a nicotine derivative. Many cities found the anti-convulsant carbamazepine. Officials in one of those communities, Colorado Springs, say they detected five pharmaceuticals in all, including a tranquilizer and a hormone."

Some cities turned out to have fairly clean water, one of them being Seattle. That's not a surprise, given that my city's water comes from high up in the Cascade Range where the pharma gods apparently do not reign. Apparently, other US cities are not so fortunate. One city water supply remains untested at this point: New York City.

While the risks of drugs in the water supply aren't known, it's is known that Prozac in small concentrations in streams makes fish not want to eat and make them swim weirdly. I imagine this cannot be good for small children much less adults.

Pharmaceuticals in the water supply. As Sen. McCain put it last night, America is an "exceptional" country.

Instead of either banning them or having them dominate every thread, I think there should be troll forums for dissenters to have their say. That way we can still get our daily fix of irrational hatred if we so desire, and Mikey B won't have to create more personalities than he already has

If the 'moderation' anywhere goes anything like that at E-sangha I won't touch any resulting 'forum' with a long shitty stick.

The "Soto Zen" forum there was closed down because one Mr.Cohen slapped them with a threat of legal action due to their clearly stated religious intolerance... unfortunately for those E-sangha Tibetan fetishists/ religious fundamentalists they are based in Singapore where there are quite stringent laws against religious intolerance.

We do disagree on little things Mr. Cohen, but on this I say: Well Done!

I don't see any problem with just keeping things the way they are.I really don't. It's no different from carrying on a conversation in a very noisy coffee shop.Just pay attention to the conversation you are having with those you wish to converse with. It really isn't a problem in written form. Just skip over the comments you don't care to read.In answering/responding use name/moniker and time such as 'in response to lone wolf 10pm', or 'anon. 8:16pm'I truly dislike monitored forums. I've never visited e-sangha but I've gone to Treeleaf, I'm not that impressed. Sure, it's ok and let it be what it is,but this space is going to go through it's cycles like every other impermanent thing. Right now in addition to serving as a place to comment on the blog it's in the process of serving as space for someone who is in the midst of healing himself with a form of journal-therapy I guess. I have no problem with it. I wish him well and I commend his personal bravery and perseverance.In some curious odd fashion I've come to care about and love this man. I really hope things go well for him. I would miss not being able to take a peek now and again at how things are going for him.I totally admire Brad for his blog and for letting the comment section take it's own shape.

I, Michael Barda-... em... Michael Blardone, who has never posted to this comment section before ever, also feel that I... erm... that Michael Bardan, is a great guy for letting us in on his brilliantly constructed (and rather sexy if I may say) delusions.

This is what Zen is all about you foos.

Please let him keep on enlightening u foos further as I think I am getting more enlightened with each thrilling installment of my...erm... of HIS greatness.

I'd be really shocked if anything you've every posted here would be "moderated" away on the new thing, whatever that may be.

I'd be really shocked if any posts criticizing Brad would be "moderated" away on the new thing, either.

"I agree", or "I disagree, and here's why" this is what the comments on a blog are supposed to be: a discussion. I'll bet there will be room for jokes, off-color remarks, really bad hobo-sexual jokes (sorry Brad) and even profanity. Brad uses profanity in his posts here, after all.

All along Brad has had the ability to delete criticism from these comments, and he hasn't.

But I won't miss the nonsense vomit that's been all over these comments recently. It has nothing to do with the OP, or anything else anyone else is posting, makes no sense, and worst of all it isn't even funny.

I will miss being able to post jokes anonymously. And I'll miss reading friends anonymous posts and being pretty sure I know who it is. Such is life.

If it should come to moderating (and I'm not saying it should), I will take a stint--but only a stint. I'll do it for 4 hours one evening a week only.I really don't know how this stuff works, but that's the max I'll put in to the blog/comments.

I really think it should stay the way it is and that those who wish discussion just discuss.

I'm probably wrong but this reminds me of people trying to go someplace quiet to 'talk', getting to that quiet place and then having nothing to say.

I mean it is like being in the great outdoors here--gnats and flies and things under rocks and it is the very unshaped wild livingness of it that is just so refreshing.

Please let it be what it is. It isn't going to be anything for ever nothing ever is.

Just my opinion, but treeleaf.com and Jundo's Sangha may be the best thing in the Buddhist networld right now. I know lots of other agree. Why?

A warm and tolerant community, supporting each other, not afraid to talk about anything, sitting together every day online, and Jundo's teaching. No bullshit. He's just brilliant and funny, a great teacher.

You should really look at that place close. We may not want to do it the same way here, but it would be better than this noisy coffee shop.

I like the comment section, even in its recent form. It's tiring, sure, and some parts annoy me. But it's like playing teeball with anger management, you know exactly where the ball is.

I wouldn't mind a forum in addition, so long as Harry moderates it. Fuck moderation. I could have phrased that differently on a Buddhist comment section, but I like the way it reads back. Moderation's far too much work for what you get. And what do you get? eSangha's too party-line. Treeleaf's a little sugary for my taste. What would HZ be too much of? [Insert Joke Here] A forum's fine, but moderating it for spam is enough.

There's nothing stopping any of us from having a conversation right here. Whadda ya'll wanna talk about? I thought the recent videos appeared poorly shot, childish, even. The D13 vid rocked a little. Brad still dresses exactly like that.

We're sitting at HSC in Santa Monica tomorrow morning and you're all welcome to (travel to the Los Angeles area and) join us.

treeleaf is fine for treeleaf.We don't need another treeleaf because one already exists.Sure you want to add a forum to this thing, try it out and if the forum takes off and is so wonderful and all, then turn off the lights and shut the door on the constant comments fun clubhouse.

And if the forum thing just doesn't take off....well...you still gots comments.

But really the beauty of this situation here is that all things can exist simultaneously and that nothing is refused.

If at all possible I would like to see that beauty preserved--the wildness--the openness--

i typed something, it got erased, very unzen because if i had typed it and then the moderator erased it, then that would have been zen, therefore when the result of the action is the same but from different reasons (zen v unzen), then what IS zen?

Forums suck. I really don't think anything needs to be changed here. People getting their panties all in a wad over what they don't like or understand is more annoying than mikey's contributions. Skip over them if they bother you so much.. One of the better things about Brad's blog was his embracing of harmless weirdness. There is nothing about michael's writing that can hurt anyone. Afterall, you can't tell the buddhas from the demons by what they say anyway. Don't be such nazi pussies..

The Great Master Sakyamuni says,"The triple world is only the one mind, There is nothing else outside of the mind.The mind, buddha, and living beings-The three are without distinction."

The triple world of thinking, feeling and action exists in the context of subject and object. So what I think is self is always wrong. Without water, air, sunshine and you, what am I? I just played in a hockey tournament and the team that was the most 'interconnected' just always seemed to be in the right place at the right time to score or stop us from scoring. They had no one dominant player, they all dominated in their own time. Just leave some space here - a deep breath or a short break - so others can find the space to express themselves and dominate.

if there is one word that makes me happy, no matter what no matter what it is the word

h o c k e y

and the season is about to start up and to hear of your tournament, Rich, and the way the 'interactive' team was able to take time and space away from others they played with...well, got to tell you, it just makes me smile all over.because whenever you have the opportunity to see hockey, good, better and best hockey is always being played (not necessarily your own team playing it), but good, better, best hockey couldn't get played at all without another team.Anyway Rich, where to you play? I'll come and root for the underdogs (I always root for the underdogs) so that may not necessarily be your team, but I'd love to get into the spirit of the season!

The question wasn't, Do you think a person exists? The question was, If you don't think that a person exists, who is Brad Warner? The question doesn't presume attachment to anything. An answer might have revealed something but your answer of nope, though possibly only hebetudinous, was nevertheless excellent.